Lost in the Rain
by MJFastlane
Summary: Hilary loses her temper with Ming-Ming and takes a walk in the woods with Mariah to calm down. When they get lost, they are unexpectedly rescued by a pair of Russians, leading to interesting results. TalaxHilary, BryanxMariah
1. Temper tantrums and Walks in the woods

"This is certainly not my idea of fun," Ming-Ming announced to anyone who cared to listen. Everyone was forced to shelter inside the lodge, as no one particularly wanted to hang around outside and be rained on. While said rain hadn't eventuated yet, it was only a matter of time before the heavens opened and drenched everything in sight. In addition to the promise of future rain, it was a cold, windy day, and nobody particularly enjoyed the bite of ice carried by the wind, except the Russian team, all of whom were outside doing god knows what.

"It's nobody's idea of fun, but unless you want to be rained on, you'll have to deal." Julia appeared to be losing her patience with the pampered pop star; Hilary had lost hers fifteen minutes ago and was currently braving the weather outside with Mariah in an attempt to calm down. It didn't seem to be working however, as the two girls were still outside, Mariah huddled into her jacket on the porch while Hilary paced relentlessly back and forth, anger evident in every stride.

"I'm going for a walk," Hilary announced.

"D-don't," Mariah stammered, shivering from the icy wind.

"You don't have to come." Hilary turned on her heel, surprised when Mariah leapt up and followed her.

"Yes I do; I couldn't stand listening to Ming-Ming. Who knows, it might warm me up." She smiled weakly at the brunette, still shivering through her jacket.

"Come on, let's race. If running won't warm you up, I don't know what will." With that Hilary turned, running across the little courtyard, Mariah right on her heels.

"Where's the finish?" shouted the pink-haired girl, struggling to make herself heard over the whistle of the wind.

"We'll do a lap of the courtyard." Hilary began to run, outpacing Mariah until she nearly tripped over Ian. Managing not to fall on the younger boy, she overbalanced and fell backwards onto her rear. Mariah passed by laughing, continuing her lap of the courtyard.

"I win!" she cheered, turning to wave cheekily at the brunette.

"Only because I fell," Hilary mumbled, climbing to her feet.

"Yeah, what's with that?" Ian sounded annoyed. "You could have killed me."

"Well, you shouldn't have been in the way!" Hilary snapped, her forgotten anger rising up with renewed force.

"Come on Hil, calm down," Mariah panted, having jogged over at the sound of raised voices. The other Russians all appeared to be unconcerned with their younger teammate's antics, leaving Mariah to try and contain Hilary's temper.

"It's not my fault you don't look where you're going," retorted Ian, evidently not knowing Hilary well enough to recognise the danger signs of her temper.

"Come on guys, it was an accident." Mariah offered the statement like an olive branch, an offer of peace that both parties ignored.

"I was looking where I was going! You were in the way you little shrimp!" Hilary glared at Ian, who glared right back. Mariah backed up slightly, shaking her head. When the two continued to bicker, she walked away, moving to join the other boys.

"I AM NOT A HAG!" Hilary's shout reverberated around the courtyard, drawing interested glances from the lucky bladers still inside. Mariah winced, holding her hands to her ears in reflex. Her actions drew amused glances from Tala and Spencer, and no reaction at all from Bryan or Kai. Turning around, she noticed Ian running for his life from a very angry Hilary.

"Whatever. I am not getting involved." Mariah turned back to the boys. "What?"

"Nothing. Do you think she'll kill him?" Tala asked casually, like it was an everyday occurrence to watch attempted murder.

"If he keeps insulting her, yes." Mariah shivered again, trying to huddle deeper into her jacket.

"Cold?" The redhead asked, not sounding particularly concerned.

"F-freezing," Mariah stammered, pulling her jacket even tighter around herself. "It's the wind, I think. It feels like it should be snowing."

"It probably will later," Bryan muttered. Mariah looked at him curiously, but he didn't respond, instead choosing to shoot Tala what was to Mariah an indecipherable look. Mariah was about to begin questioning the two when Hilary stomped over, panting slightly.

"Hi, Hilary." Mariah began chirpily, hoping Hilary had worked off her anger.

"Hey, Riah." Hilary sounded much calmer now. Mariah had no idea what she might have done to Ian to work off all her anger, and she was also pretty sure she didn't want to know. The Russian boys seemed to be thinking along the same lines, as Spencer had gone to see if Ian was still alive, Kai had vanished, probably back inside where it was warm, and Tala was talking to Bryan who didn't seem to be too enthusiastic about the conversation.

"Come for a walk, Mariah?"

"Oh no, we just did that and look what happened."

"I nearly killed Ian, so what?" Mariah sweat-dropped at that.

"You nearly committed murder! Don't you know that's a crime?"

"Come on, I never killed him and I won't do it this time either!" With that reassurance, Hilary grabbed Mariah, dragging her into the surrounding woods for a walk.

"I don't think that's a good idea," muttered Tala, jerking his head in the direction of the disappearing girls when Bryan looked at him curiously.

"If they're stupid enough to get caught in the rain..."

"We should stop them."

"What? Why?" Bryan looked at Tala like he'd sprouted another head.

"We're supposed to be trying to be social, remember?" Tala began walking after the girls, smiling inside when Bryan followed him, muttering unintelligible curses under his breath in both English and Russian.

* * *

"Ooh, don't you love the woods?" Hilary cooed, prancing happily along the path. Mariah, still shivering, hurried along behind, trying not freeze to death or get left behind by Hilary.

"Hilary, don't you think we should go back now? It could rain any minute and Bryan said it might snow." Mariah was anxious; she wasn't particularly fond of the cold and she wanted to be inside where it was warm.

"Huh? You got Bryan to talk?" Hilary turned back to her friend.

"Well, not really. Seriously Hilary, we should go back."

"Fine, we'll go. Can you remember which way the lodge is?"

"What, can't you? I thought you knew." Mariah was beginning to panic; she did not want to die of hypothermia. She glanced around quickly, but could see nothing in the way of landmarks that would help her remember which way they'd come.

"Uh, Hilary?"

"Yeah? You remembered the way?"

"No. I think we're lost."

"Oh crap."

* * *

"Urgh, I hate the woods." Bryan had been muttering a continuous stream of complaints as the two boys followed the girls through the woods, taking careful note of which way they'd come from. This however was the first decipherable one he'd uttered in English. The rest had sounded like gobbledegook to Tala.

"Why?" Hopefully he could bring Bryan out of his little moody moment; the older boy was not good company when he was angry. Tala half-turned, expecting an answer, and he was more than a little annoyed when the other kept walking straight past him. Tala hurried to catch up, nearly colliding with Bryan when the other stopped right in front of him.

"Think they realise they're lost yet?" Tala asked, trying to contain his irritation.

"Not yet," Bryan murmured looking at the path ahead. Stepping around him, Tala was finally able to see the two girls, who appeared to be having an argument about going back to the lodge.

"How much longer do you give them?"

"Ten seconds," Bryan said confidently. Sure enough, Mariah's raised voice carried clearly to the two boys.

"Uh, Hilary?"

"Yeah? You remembered the way?"

"No. I think we're lost."

"Idiots," Bryan muttered, beginning down the path towards the two girls, who had begun to continue along the path, despite the fact that they were lost and moving would only worsen the problem.

"Where are you going?" Tala asked slyly, knowing that as much as he pretended otherwise, Bryan must care a little if he didn't have to be physically forced to help the two girls.

"Trying to be social, remember?" Tala decided not to push any further, as he could see the signs of Bryan losing his already short temper. Deciding discretion was the better part of valour, he followed his teammate towards the two girls.

* * *


	2. Rain and Truth or Dare in a Cave

Okay, I'm new to this whole autor thing, so still getting used to the way this site works. Anyway, this is my first story, so if you see any problems, let me know through a review so I can improve. However, if you just don't like the storyline, plot etc. I don't wanna hear it. I would however, love to hear any positive feedback or constructive criticism.

Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblade. If I did, I'd probably be living in a city somewhere, not a little outback town. This applies to the first chapter too. I kinda forgot for it.

* * *

"We should stay put," Mariah said firmly. "There's no point in wandering around and getting even more lost. I'm sure if we don't come back soon, someone will come looking for us."

"You're forgetting the rain. If it rains, no one will leave the lodge, no matter how much they miss us." Hilary looked around; Mariah's anxiety was catching and neither girl wanted to be lost in the rain.

"Do you hear something?" Mariah's sharp hearing had picked up footsteps, back the way she thought they'd come from.

"No, I don't hear...wait, yes I do! We're saved!" Hilary tried to contain her excitement, drawing an amused glance from the other girl.

"We should wait and see who it is first," the neko-jin cautioned. "It might not be a person; for all we know it could be a bear." That calmed Hilary down; she shrunk in on herself, looking suddenly apprehensive.

Mariah could hear a voice now, muttering in a language she didn't recognise.

"I don't think it's a bear Hilary, don't worry."

"What makes you say that? I still can't really hear whatever it is."

"Because it's talking, which makes it a person, not a bear."

"Maybe it's a talking bear."

"Hmm. I'll be sure to tell whoever it is that you thought they were a talking bear."

"Who's a bear?" asked Tala, rounding a corner in the path with Bryan behind him, scaring the living daylights out of Hilary who hadn't heard them coming. Mariah, who had heard them, had adopted a defensive crouch, the effect of which was ruined by her constant shivering.

"Ooh, intimidating." Tala mocked the shivering neko-jin, who sent a death glare equal to some of Bryan's worst back at him. He smirked inwardly; it looked so out-of-place on her girly face.

"Hilary thought the voices might be coming from a talking bear." Mariah straightened up, hugging her arms around herself to try and keep warm. It hadn't worked for the past half-hour, but that didn't mean it might not work now.

"Really?" Tala quirked an eyebrow at Hilary, who blushed before saying "I couldn't hear you over the wind anyway!"

"Then how did you know we were coming?"

"Mariah heard you."

"We didn't make that much noise did we, Bryan?" Tala turned to his grouchy teammate.

"I didn't."

"He's right; it was your voice I could hear, Tala."

"Hey! I don't swear like-" The rest of Tala's sentence was cut off by the sudden torrent of rain falling from the sky. "Shit!"

"I thought you didn't swear," said Hilary teasingly, ignoring the rain.

"I don't swear like a trooper, unlike Bryan."

"Um, guys? Can you two stop flirting long enough for us to find some shelter? Because I don't think we're going to make it back to the lodge." Mariah looked pointedly at her jacket, which was soaking wet. Hilary was faring little better, while the two boys seemed relatively comfortable. Their clothing must have had some sort of waterproof lining, because they didn't look to be getting too wet.

"This way," said Bryan irritably, already walking away from the others. Hilary and Tala were still talking together, so Mariah hurried to catch up to Bryan. Sure, he wasn't much for conversation, but it was better than having to listen to the other two flirting. He glanced down at the cat-girl as she approached, wondering what the hell she wanted. When she didn't speak, seemingly content just to walk beside him, he resumed ignoring her and everyone else, focusing instead on finding the cave he was sure he'd seen earlier.

"What are you looking for?" He glared at her irritably; she'd always annoyed him, cheerful energetic cute pink little furball that she was. No, no, no! She was not cute, goddamit! While Bryan was having his little internal conflict moment, Mariah was waiting patiently for the Russian to reply.

"I saw a cave back here somewhere." He decided against ignoring her, after all, she had heard them coming, so maybe she could actually be of some help. Sure enough, after another few minutes of walking, she tapped him on the shoulder before pointing off into the trees. Squinting a little, he was able to make out the shape of a cave mouth, which he quickly set off towards, Mariah right behind him. Neither bothered to wait for the others, Bryan because he knew Tala could look after himself (and the annoying brunette he seemed so fond of) while Mariah was slightly cranky at Hilary for dragging her out where she got soaking wet so that she now had to spend time with Bryan.

"Hah! Dryness!" Mariah exulted, happy to be out of the rain. Bryan gave her an odd look, before resuming his exploration of the cave. He was just returning from the back end of the cave when Tala and Hilary entered, puffing slightly.

"I. Hate. Rain!" Hilary growled, trying to shake the water off herself, looking so much like a dog that Tala mockingly petted her on the head.

"I will remind you that you dragged me out in the rain, not the other way around." Mariah pointedly reminded Hilary, who giggled awkwardly, avoiding looking at Mariah.

"No bears," Bryan grunted, settling himself on the ground. Mariah had already found a seat and had removed her jacket and the jumper she'd been wearing underneath. She was now dressed in only her ordinary clothing, making her colder than ever, but also a whole lot dryer. Hilary had the same idea, removing the jacket she'd been wearing and tossing it to the ground before finding a seat.

"Okay, now what?" she asked, looking around at her companions.

"We wait for the rain to stop." Bryan looked at her as if she were simple.

"Well yeah, I knew that. But what are we going to do while we wait?"

"Ooh, I know. Plot ways to kill the idiot who decided to go for a walk when she knew it was going to rain!" Mariah did not sound happy, at all.

"You know, you make that sound so entertaining." Everyone except Mariah shifted away from Bryan after that comment. Mariah merely bowed her head in acknowledgement.

"We could play a game..." Hilary began.

"Depends on the game," said Mariah firmly. "I am not playing Truth or Dare!"

"Coward," Hilary accused the pink-haired neko-jin.

"No, I just know what happens to people who play Truth or Dare with you."

"Can you even play Truth or Dare with four people?" asked Tala curiously. There'd never been much opportunity for him or the rest of his team to play these sorts of games. The type of games they'd been encouraged to play in the Abbey usually resulted in someone getting hurt.

"We are not playing Truth or Dare!" Mariah repeated emphatically. Bryan smiled dangerously at her, before turning to Hilary.

"I think we should play it," he announced. Tala nearly fell over from shock. Bryan, agreeing to play a childish, immature game that would require him to be social? Impossible. Hilary looked almost as surprised, while Mariah was fuming.

"How do you play Truth or Dare in a cave during the rain? It kinda restricts the dares you can do, and no one wants a game full of Truth." Mariah pointed out triumphantly.

"Heh. It restricts the dares, it doesn't eliminate them." Tala decided he may as well get into the spirit of the game, since everyone except Mariah seemed determined to play.

"But still, can't we do something else?" The neko-jin was pleading now, actually on her hands and knees begging. Hilary almost looked moved; Tala was trying to hold back a laugh, but Bryan, surprisingly enough, cracked first.

"Stop it! We're playing, and that's final." He glared at the pink-haired girl, who glared right back. Aware of the glaring talents of both, Hilary decided to interrupt before a full-blown glare-war could begin.

"Okay, we need to set up some rules. We need a penalty dare, to be completed if you refuse to perform a normal dare. Any suggestions?" Hilary immediately took control, much to the amusement of Tala and the annoyance of Bryan.

"Hmm. How about, you have to kiss Hiro if you refuse to do the dare?" Tala offered.

"Sounds horrid; it's a great penalty dare."

"We don't have a bottle to spin," Mariah pointed out, still hoping to avoid having to play.

"That's okay; you just say someone's name instead of spinning a bottle." Hilary dismissed the concern. "You are not getting out of playing, Mariah, and that's final."

"Dares are kinda limited by the fact we're in a cave," Tala reminded the bossy brunette.

"Well, there can be dares to be performed when we get back, I suppose."

"Sounds good. Any other rules we need?"

"Yeah, penalty dare applies if we find out you're lying on a Truth." The two continued to discuss the rules, while Mariah pouted, much to the amusement of Bryan.

"If the wind changes, your face will freeze like that," he remarked, as she pulled a particularly horrid face. Mariah merely turned her back on him, continuing to pout.

"Okay, I think we've covered everything. I'll start. Mariah, Truth or Dare?"

"I hate you Hilary."

"That's not an option."

"No, it's a side note. Truth."

"You are so boring. Is it true you've kissed Ray?"

"No."

"Are you serious?" Tala butted into the dialogue between the two girls.

"Yes I am; it's truth so I can't lie."

"God, everyone thought you two were an item!"

"Well, we're not. Ray's just a friend; he's like a big brother, but less annoying."

"Okay." Tala was clearly doubtful, but decided not to force the issue. "Your go."

"Um, Bryan. Truth or dare?"

"Dare."

"Dare you to give me your jacket." Everyone simultaneously sweat dropped.

"What? Why? What kind of dare is that?" Hilary looked curiously at her friend.

"The kind of dare that's gonna keep me alive to keep playing. I'm freezing." Sure enough, Mariah was shivering violently, her lips taking on an unhealthy blue tinge.

"Fine." Bryan removed his jacket, throwing it at the freezing girl. She quickly shrugged it on despite the fact it was way too big for her. Huddling into the warmth left from the older teen's body, she smiled gratefully.

"Thank you."

"Huh." Bryan looked away, uncomfortable with the pink-haired girl's gaze.

"Your go Bryan." Tala reminded the bigger boy.

"Right. Tala, truth or dare?"

"Dare." The redhead grinned confidently at his friend.

"Dare you to wear Spencer's headgear for a whole day when we get back. That is, from the moment you get up to the moment you go to bed, not including showers and swimming." Bryan smiled in satisfaction, knowing Tala would find such a task extremely embarrassing.

"Are you kidding? I don't wanna look like a confused Eskimo!"

"Well, it's that or kiss Hiro."

"Fine. My go. Uh, Hilary. Truth or dare?"

"I'll live dangerously and choose dare."

"Dare you to be nice to Daichi for a whole day. The same day I have to wear Spencer's headgear, same time period."

"Do you know how hard that's gonna be?"

"Yep." Tala nodded his head seriously.

"Grr. Alright, I'll do it. Hmm, Bryan, truth or dare?"

"Dare."

"Wow, you're game." Mariah looked at him with something akin to respect.

"I take umbrage to that comment, Mariah. I dare you, Bryan, to be Ian's constant companion for a day without killing him." Hilary smiled proudly at the dare she'd come up with for the quiet, grouchy teen. Mariah shook her head despairingly as Bryan began glaring at Hilary.

"Uh, Bry? Your go." Tala dared, ignoring the death glare now turned on him.

"Truth or dare, captain?" asked Bryan sarcastically.

"Truth."

"Coward."

"Yeah. Now what do I have to tell you?"

"Is it true you're still a virgin?" Bryan smirked evilly, already knowing the answer and also knowing the extreme embarrassment the answer would bring upon Tala. Tala muttered something unintelligible, not looking at anyone in the cave.

"What was that, Tally?"

"I hate you, Bry. It's yes, as you already know." Tala gave Bryan a return death glare, something the Russian team was apparently very good at.

"Mariah, truth or dare?"

"Truth."

"I will remind you there is only allowed to be two truths in a row before you have to pick dare," Hilary butted in, smiling sweetly at a now very pale Mariah.

"Anyway, is it true that you don't even have Internet or cable at your house?" Tala decided to take pity on the nervous neko-jin. He didn't enjoy picking on girls, not at all.

"It's a remote Chinese village. Of course not. But we do have a telly. And a phone." Mariah grinned, fear of Hilary's dares forgotten in light of the friendly question about her home.

"Your go," said Bryan impatiently. He'd forgotten just how much he hated this game in deciding to play just to spite Mariah. Not that he hated the pink-haired girl; he was just annoyed by her. Two completely different things.

"Okay. Hilary, truth or dare?"

"Hmm, I think I'll be different and pick truth."

"Great! Do you have a crush on anyone, and if so, who?" Mariah smirked as Hilary blushed furiously.

"Remember, if you don't tell, you have to kiss Hiro." Tala teased, seeing the girl obviously embarrassed, which only made her blush even more.

"I think it's obvious she has a crush," Bryan observed laconically. "So who is it?"

Hilary muttered something that sounded like 'rara', turning her head towards the wall so she wouldn't have to look at anyone.

"Can't hear you, Hilary."

"Tala," she muttered quietly. Said redhead joined her in blushing at the admission, causing Bryan to burst out in laughter, which he hurriedly stifled after a glare from Mariah.

"My go," Hilary muttered, before finally turning back to face the others.

"Mariah, truth or dare? Oh, sorry, you have to pick dare." Hilary was smiling now, a downright scary smile that had Mariah shivering in fear.

"Uh, okay, dare."

"Hehe. Hmm, what to do?" Hilary was muttering random statements to herself, which only further frightened Mariah, almost to the point of tears.

"Hurry up, woman," Bryan snapped, tired of Hilary dragging out the drama only to frighten Mariah. He wondered why the Chinese girl was getting so worked up; evidently she'd played this game with Hilary before and thought she had reason to be afraid.

"Don't call me woman!" Hilary tried a death glare, which only made Bryan snort in amusement.

"Don't call you woman, don't call you hag, what do you want us to say that is actually true?"

"You are so annoying!"

"My life's mission." Mariah burst out laughing, fear forgotten at the look on Hilary's face. Bryan turned to Mariah and grinned, a sincere expression of satisfaction and happiness that was only too rare for the grouchy teen.

"Well, since you two seem to be getting along so well, I think I've figured out your dare, Mariah!" Hilary had the scary smile back on her face. Tala had the wisdom to stay out of the whole thing; he was sitting back against the wall watching to make sure no one got irritated to the point of trying to kill someone else. He also took the opportunity just to watch Hilary, who he had to admit, was quite good-looking. And now he'd found out she liked him...

"Help," Mariah squeaked, moving closer to Bryan, who looked at her with something akin to amusement in his eyes.

"Oh, that's just perfect. Mariah, I dare you to..." Hilary stopped speaking, trying for a dramatic pause.

"Goddammit girl, we don't have all day!" Bryan snapped, having lost what little patience he possessed.

"...sit in Bryan's lap for the rest of the time we're trapped in the cave!" Hilary barely managed to get the words out between giggles. Tala burst out laughing at the dare, his resolution to keep out of it forgotten in his amusement. Mariah blushed almost as furiously as Hilary had earlier, while Bryan looked like he'd dearly love to kill Hilary.

"What if I say no?"

"Um, then she has to kiss Hiro." Hilary was still giggling occasionally, but it was almost under control now.

"Fine." Bryan sighed in resignation, before grabbing the Chinese girl and pulling her roughly into his lap.

"Uh, thanks?" she said uncertainly, tilting her head at a weird angle to look up at him.

"Making anyone kiss Hiro is just evil. And contrary to popular belief, I'm not that much of a sadist."

"Your go, Mariah." Tala looked with amusement at his teammate and the Chinese girl. The spectacle looked so odd, Bryan sitting with the little pink thing in his lap, and yet it somehow looked natural too. She'd snuggled up against his chest, obviously still cold even through Bryan's thick jacket, while Bryan had one arm loosely wrapped around Mariah's waist, keeping her from slipping off.

"Tala, truth or dare?"

"Dare. Why not? It's not like you could be as evil as Hilary with them."

"You don't know that." Mariah stuck her tongue out at the redhead, pouting childishly.

"Well? What's the dare?"

"Umm..." Mariah seemed lost, until Bryan whispered something in her ear which had her nodding her head excitedly. "That's really good!"

"What is?" Hilary looked up to be greeted with a satisfied smirk from Bryan, making her think that whatever the dare was, it couldn't be good for Tala. Mariah was having a fit of the giggles, which was making it hard for her to get the words she needed out. Bryan sighed, squeezing her waist non-too-gently to get her attention. She sat up immediately, smiling evilly at Tala and Hilary.

"Hehehe... I dare you, Tala, to kiss Hilary!"

* * *

Okay, I know it's cliched, I know it's completely over-used, and it's the only way I could come up with to get them all talking and interacting. Does that make me unimaginative? Probably. But I needed Hilary or tala to admit a crush to get that train rolling, and I needed to force Bryan and Mariah into close quarters for some period of time.

So, kindly review. Or unkindly, as long as it's helpful. I'm happy with either.


	3. Kisses and Lullabies

Yay! New chapter! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I am not a Japanese guy (whose name currently escapes me) so I don't own Beyblade. I only own myself. The lullabies aren't mine either.

* * *

_"Hehehe... I dare you, Tala, to kiss Hilary!"_

Mariah dissolved into another fit of the giggles, which Bryan didn't even try to stop this time. He couldn't, he was too busy trying not to laugh himself at the expressions on Tala and Hilary's faces. Hilary looked like a tomato; she was blushing so fiercely, while Tala was doing the world's best impression of a statue.

"Uh, guys?" Mariah stopped giggling for a moment to look at them.

"Tala, you can kiss Hilary or you can kiss Hiro. I know which one I'd choose." Hilary stopped blushing long enough to glare at Bryan, who completely ignored her, watching his team captain instead. Tala unfroze at Bryan's words, shooting him an oddly grateful look, before turning to Hilary.

"If you don't want to do this, Hilary..."

"We can't have you kissing Hiro now, can we?" The brunette was all business now, moving over to where Tala was sitting, though she was still an interesting shade of pink. "May as well get it over with, ri-" However, Hilary was cut off by the feeling of Tala's lips on hers. The kiss was soft and hesitant, just a quick press of lips before he made to move away. She made a small noise of complaint in the back of her throat, so he leaned back in, pressing harder this time, making it longer and more passionate.

"Guys? You were dared to kiss, not make out." Bryan's dry comment brought the pair back to themselves, and they hastily parted, though Hilary stayed sitting next to Tala. Mariah was smiling, evidently well-pleased with herself, while Bryan was smirking in amusement.

"So, I guess it's your go, Tala." Mariah snuggled down into Bryan's lap, her movements causing him to wince slightly as she pressed a little too hard near a certain part of his anatomy.

"Eh, I've got nothing."

"You can't have nothing."

"No, Mariah, I'm out of ideas. I'm kinda over it, to tell you the truth."

"Hey, I was over it from the beginning, but nobody listened to me."

"Of course not. It was way too much fun torturing you." Tala smirked triumphantly, while Mariah pulled a sulky face. "So, what else can we do?"

"I'm still open to killing Hilary."

"Stop sulking, Mariah. You're not very good at it." Mariah just sulked even more, while Hilary exchanged a smug look with Tala. "Does anyone have any food?"

"Why would we have food? It's not like this was a planned excursion." Bryan had retreated into his usual grouchiness.

"What? Not even a bit of gum?" Hilary looked around pleadingly, but no one seemed to have any food. "What about a drink?"

"There's plenty out there." Bryan jerked his head towards the cave mouth, beyond which was a dreary grey drizzle of rain.

"That's not what I meant," the brunette snapped, glaring at the tall Russian, who met her glare unblinkingly.

"Please let's not fight. We don't know how long we'll be stuck here, so we may as well make the best of it."

"Nothing here to make the best of." Hilary moved closer to Tala as she shivered, eyeing her jacket longingly. Tala, noticing her discomfort, tentatively placed an arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer to him. When she didn't protest, he shifted towards her.

"May as well keep as warm as possible," he said, when she looked at him curiously. "I don't suppose there was any wood back there, Bry?"

"No."

"Great. Body heat it is." They sat in silence for several minutes, listening to the steady sound of the rain. Dreary as it was being trapped in the cave, the sound was relaxing, and Mariah soon drifted off to sleep, Hilary following not long after.

"Guess we're stuck here a while."

"Mm."

"I wonder if anyone's realised we're missing yet."

"Dunno."

"You could be a little enthusiastic, Bry."

"Why waste the energy?"

* * *

"Who knows where they wandered off to? Who cares? That brunette nearly killed me!" Ian sat inside the lodge on a couch near Julia, who was busy interrogating him and Spencer about what had happened to Hilary and Mariah.

"I care! They're my friends, you little twerp!"

"If it makes you feel better, Tala and Bryan are missing too." Spencer said levelly, looking at Julia who seemed ready to flatten Ian.

"How is that supposed to make me feel better?"

"Well, they're probably with your friends. Tala has a crush on Hilary; he won't let her get hurt."

"Great. So we've got four lost people wandering around in the rain."

"I doubt they're lost; at least, not Tala and Bryan. I also doubt they're wandering around. They probably found a cave or something to shelter in. Bryan and Tala are not stupid, and that little pink girl isn't too bad either."

"Hilary's not dumb."

"No, but I don't think she knows much about woodcraft."

"Alright. So they're together in a cave somewhere, waiting for the rain to stop. So what are we supposed to do?"

"Relax. We can't do anything until the rain stops, and they know what they're doing."

"Are you sure?" Julia stared intently at the blond, who looked back coolly.

"Of course."

_I hope_, he added silently. _I really hope I'm right_.

* * *

Bryan was the only one still awake. Tala had fallen asleep not long ago, Hilary snuggled into him while he leaned his head on hers. Mariah was currently a dead weight in his lap, curled into a ball and pressed against him, seeking warmth even in her sleep. He'd eventually wrapped both arms around her, and now sat cuddling the pink-haired girl to his chest, trying to sleep himself. It had been about two when the girls left for their walk, and almost three thirty when they realised they were lost. By the time they'd found the cave it was about four, Bryan thought, and they'd been in it for a good hour or two now. So it would have to be almost six, with the sun due to set soon. Unless the rain stopped right now, they'd probably be spending the night in the cave, with no food, and only the rain to drink.

Mariah stirred in her sleep, tossing restlessly, and awkwardly for Bryan, who cursed under his breath as she squashed his leg. Why on earth had he agreed to play Truth and Dare? He hated the game, with a passion. And contrary to what he'd thought, he hadn't got any pleasure out of forcing Mariah to play. In fact, it had made him feel uncomfortable when Hilary was tormenting her. What he didn't understand was why he cared.

"Mmhn...mmph..."

"What?"

"...Bryan? What the...uh. Oh, right. Cave. Urgh." Mariah righted herself, blinking blearily as the cave came into focus. "Has it stopped raining yet?"

"No."

"Great. Guess we'll be spending the night then."

"Probably. Look, I need a drink."

"Okay, no problem. Mind if I tag along?"

"What, all the way over to the cave mouth?" He regretted the sarcasm when she flinched slightly as if struck.

"Oh, well..."

"Ignore me. Come on." He walked away, relieved when she followed and he wouldn't have to make a fool of himself trying to apologise.

"How are you planning on drinking?" She looked at the cave mouth curiously. The water fell like a curtain off the top of the cave, creating a mini waterfall over the opening. While she watched, Bryan moved forwards, making a cup out of his hands in which he caught the water. Duh, self. Of course that's how you'd do it, she thought mockingly, mentally slapping herself for her obtuseness. Bryan drank his fill, stepping back from the cave mouth, but making no move to go back further into the cave. Instead, he sat down just inside the opening, staring out at the rain. Mariah sat down beside him, looking back at the sleeping forms of Hilary and Tala.

_"Sleep my child and peace attend thee,  
All through the night  
Guardian angels God will send thee,  
All through the night  
Soft the drowsy hours are creeping,  
Hill and dale in slumber sleeping,  
I my loved ones' watch am keeping,  
All through the night_

_Angels watching, ever around thee,  
All through the night  
Midnight slumber close surround thee,  
All through the night  
Soft the drowsy hours are creeping,  
Hill and dale in slumber sleeping  
I my loved ones' watch am keeping,  
All through the night"_

Mariah sang softly, smiling as she watched the sleeping pair. Bryan turned away from the rain as she sang, closing his eyes and letting her voice wash over him. She wasn't great, but her voice was even and she kept pretty much in tune, and he found himself recalling the song, sung by someone else years earlier, with a higher, sweeter voice. Abruptly, he opened his eyes, blinking back tears that threatened to spill.

"It's the only lullaby I know in English," Mariah murmured, shifting so she now faced Bryan.

"Mm." He wouldn't look at her, staring out at the rain again instead.

"Hey? What's wrong?" She looked up at him, worried when he barely responded.

"Nothing. Leave me alone." Bryan stood, hastily heading back into the cave, past Tala and Hilary, right up to the back part which was swallowed in darkness. Mariah watched him go, strangely disappointed and wondering what she'd said that was wrong.

_"From the bamboo mother makes a flute,  
Bamboo flute for baby small  
Held in little hands,  
Pressed to rosy lips,  
Lilting melodies rise and fall_

_Lu, lu, lu, lu, melodies rise and fall  
Lu, lu, lu, lu, sleepy heads nod and fall"_

Mariah sang again, this time a traditional lullaby from her home country. She smiled, remembering happy times with her family. Eventually she drifted off again, the rain still strongly falling from the sky outside.

* * *

Okay, there you have it. Hmm, I hope Bryan wasn't too out-of-character in that bit. Hehe, he had a moody moment. Poor Mariah.

As for Tala and Hilary...eh. I know there wasn't that much of them in this one. Maybe next time.

I apologise if the kissy bit is crappy - I've never been kissed, so I'm just relying on my imagination. So it's really short and not very descriptive, but I tried. Points for trying, right?

Please review. I like reviews. Big thank yous to those who have reviewed so far.


	4. Warmth and Waking up

Here we go. Fourth chapter for you to enjoy. Bit of a filler, this one, and a bit short. Grr to the evil English assignment. Seriously, who gives assignments over the summer holidays? Who does that? The evil English faculty at my school, that's who. Grr.

Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblade. I wish I did, because maybe then I'd have money. But as it is, I'm poor and I don't own it.

* * *

The first thing Mariah noticed when she woke was the cold. The second thing was how strangely quiet the cave seemed. She opened her eyes slowly, looking around the darkened cave. As far as she could tell, it was the early hours of the morning, and everyone else was still asleep. At least, Tala and Hilary were asleep, happily snuggled up to each other. She couldn't see Bryan anywhere, so she couldn't speak for him.

She stretched awkwardly, back cramping slightly from the way she'd been sleeping. Looking outside, she thought something was different from how it was before. When she realised it wasn't raining any more, she could barely contain her excitement. Ignoring the twinge of pain in her back, she raced to the cave mouth, which admittedly wasn't very far away, savouring the silence that resulted from the absence of the rain.

"It stopped about half an hour ago." Bryan was right behind her, and it took all her self-control not to jump at his sudden presence.

"So we can go back tomorrow?"

"If it doesn't start again."

"Oh, don't be so pessimistic. I can't see any clouds, so I think it's gone. And about time, too. I'm starving."

"You were the one who went for a walk when you knew it was going to rain."

"No, that was Hilary."

"You went with her."

"Because I'm her friend, and that's what friends do."

"What, be stupid because the other is too?"

"I didn't mean it like that!" She whirled around to face him, annoyance flashing in her eyes.

"Shut up!" he hissed, glancing over his shoulder at the sleeping forms of Tala and Hilary.

"Sorry." He ignored her, moving back into the cave and sitting down near the sleeping pair. Unsure as to what to do, Mariah meekly followed him, sitting down next to him and snuggling deeper into the jacket she was still wearing.

"What do you want?"

"Oh, lots of things. A nice house, a good paying job, a decent boyfriend..."

"No, what do you want here with me?"

"Nothing much." They sat in silence for a while after that, Bryan growing more irritated by the second. Mariah could feel his irritation as if it was a living thing, and she smiled inwardly. He'd crack soon. Sure enough, after a few minutes Bryan broke the silence.

"Why are you here?"

"Because I went for a walk with Hilary and then it rained and you and Tala found us and then we came to this cave."

"Mariah."

"Because I'm cold and tired and can't sleep, so I want company. And because we're still supposed to be doing that dare, and if Tala or Hilary wakes up they'll probably make us both kiss Hiro, which I really don't want to do."

"Right," he said, clearly not believing her.

"I'm serious, at least about being cold. Please Bryan, can I sit in your lap again? I was so much warmer then." She hadn't meant to say the last bit, but it had slipped out, and she had to hope he wouldn't leave again. _Or worse yet, laugh at me, or tell Tala or Hilary what I asked._ So, she was pleasantly surprised when he pulled her into his lap. She looked up at him, shocked. This was Bryan; emotionless, silent Bryan. Why was he helping her? The Russian boy was almost tempted to laugh at the girl in his lap; her expression of shock was almost comical. He didn't want to embarrass her though; he'd found that hurt him almost as much it did her, for a reason he still hadn't figured out. He settled, instead, for one of his favourite tactics: being a smartarse.

"I don't really want to kiss Hiro either, kitty."

"Arse," she muttered, burying her head in his chest. He actually did laugh at that, but Mariah was asleep almost before she could register it. Bryan followed her not long after.

* * *

"Rise and shine, sleepyheads! The rain's stopped!" Hilary was up at sunrise, trying to get the others to join her. So far, she'd had limited success. Tala had woken, glared and rolled over, apparently dozing off again, because he wasn't responding. Mariah and Bryan were both out of it, and Hilary only wished she had a camera to capture the image of the pink-haired girl curled up in the grouchy boy's lap.

"Tala!" She tugged sharply on the redhead's ear, letting go as he started muttering in Russian. "Get up, you have to see this!"

"What?" Needless to say, he was not happy with the brunette, but he forgot his irritation at the sight of the other two curled up with each other. "Dammit! Wish I had a camera."

"Well, we don't. So help me wake this lot up already so we can go."

"Go? Go where?"

"Back to the lodge. It's stopped raining."

"Oh, alright. Let me wake them; I'm not sure you're up to handling Bryan in the morning. I'm not even sure I'm up to it." Tala approached the sleeping pair much like one would approach a wild animal: very, very carefully. Hilary stayed where she was, wondering just how bad Bryan could be to cause such caution in the arrogant Russian captain.

"Mariah. Mariah, wake up." Tala grabbed her by the shoulder, shaking gently until she began blinking and yawning, signs that she was waking up.

"Nuhuh...mnhm...Tala?"

"Wake up!"

"I am awake..."

"Can you get up then?"

"Why?"

"Because I have to wake Bryan up and you really don't want to be in the way when I do."

"Alright..." She got up wearily, dragging herself over to join Hilary. "Why are you up so early?"

"Is it early?"

"It's like, six thirty or something."

"Oh well. It's stopped raining."

"I know. It stopped last night."

"Oh." While the girls were having their scintillating conversation, Tala had warily grabbed Bryan by the shoulder. The bigger boy took no notice, still dead to the world.

"BRYAN! WAKE UP!" Tala roared, pulling sharply on the other boy's shoulder. Bryan came to immediately, lashing out at Tala before sitting up and glaring at him.

"What the hell do you want?"

"Um, wake up?"

"Piss off."

"Well, you're awake now."

"You're lucky the girls are here, or you'd be dead."

"I know. So, now that you're awake..."

"Piss off, Tala." Bryan got up and walked away from his friend, muttering curses in Russian loudly as he went. Tala smiled weakly at the two girls, moving to join them.

"Well, that went well."

"You call that well? I'd hate to see what would happen if it went badly." Hilary stared at Tala like he was mad. Mariah was trying hard not to giggle.

"Jeez, come around our room one time and watch when Ian accidently wakes him up. That's really scary."

"No thanks. I have enough trouble with Tyson and Daichi."

"You think that's bad? You should try convincing Gary to get out of bed when you're out of stuff for breakfast."

"Gary? The big guy, right?"

"Yeah."

"Well, we should probably get going. Since we're up, we may as well head on back to the lodge."

"Just let me convince Bryan not to kill me on the way back, and we'll be good to go."

* * *

There you go. The rain has stopped and they're getting out of the cave. Probably only a chapter or two to go after this, unless I have a brainwave. Therefore, probably only a chapter or two to go.

I know not much happens, but still, please review. I like reviews. They make me happy :) :) :)


	5. The Lodge and the Dares

Well, here it is. The final chapter of 'Lost in the Rain'. Not that it's raining any more, but anyway. Big, massive, gigantic thankyous to everyone who reviewed! You made my day each time. I must say I'm surprised by the amount of people who have read it. So thank you, thank you, thank you! Now, on with the story.

Disclaimer. I wish I owned Beyblade, but I don't. I'm still waiting on that wish to rule the world, something I also don't do or have.

* * *

"We're free!" Hilary skipped happily along the path ahead of the other three. "We're free!"

"We know, Hilary. We've been free for like an hour now," Mariah said dryly. "So, unless you think every tree we pass needs to know, maybe you can stop saying that now."

"You're no fun!" Hilary tossed her head, but she did stop skipping around, instead falling into step beside Tala. "So, how much further?"

"About an hour; maybe less, since we're going faster than you ladies went yesterday. What did you do, stop to hug every tree you passed or something?" Tala raised an eyebrow at the two girls.

"No, but Hilary did hit several early on." Mariah giggled, dodging an awkward swipe from the other girl. Hilary recovered and came at her again, so she ducked behind Bryan, who stood still, looking thoroughly bemused by the whole situation. Tala was leaning against a tree laughing, earning himself a glare from his friend.

"If you lot are finished, maybe we can try to get home before the sun sets?" Hilary stopped her attack on the pink-haired girl, glaring over her shoulder before walking on down the path with Tala, who was still letting out the occasional chuckle.

"Thanks Bryan."

"I didn't do anything."

"Yeah, but you didn't move, either, and Hilary certainly wasn't going to hit you."

"Just for the record, I don't like being a shield." Mariah wasn't sure, but she thought she actually detected a hint of amusement in his voice. "Let's go." They followed the others down the path that hopefully would lead them back to the lodge.

* * *

"I hate mornings," Julia grumbled to herself, exiting the lodge to stand on the quiet porch. She, along with everyone else, had been woken up at the crack of dawn by Daichi, Kevin and Ian, who had banded together early on in the trip to cause as much mischief as three short boys possibly could. They were surprisingly creative, rigging small 'bungers' to go off in most of the rooms and tampering with the plumbing so that showers were short and cold. Needless to say, the three were not very popular, and they'd left the lodge at record speed once people were awake enough to figure out who was behind the pranks. While Julia was worried about Hilary and Mariah being missing, she was also slightly envious that wherever they were, they weren't having to deal with the three midgets.

"You're not the only one." She wasn't surprised when Spencer joined her; after all, he had friends missing too, though he didn't seem too worried, confident that Tala and Bryan could take care of themselves. Julia had been immensely grateful yesterday when he'd taken the time to reassure her that her friends would be alright. She'd always thought the Russian team to be cold-hearted bastards incapable of real emotion, but she was more than willing to revise her opinion after the blond's actions yesterday.

"What time is it?" she asked wearily, turning to face her companion.

"A little after eight, I think."

"Feels like I've been up for hours."

"You have. The little shits woke us all up at about five thirty."

"If I had the energy, I'd kill them."

"Join the crowd."

They stood in silence for several minutes, enjoying the fresh morning breeze. Julia was about to go back inside for coffee when a flash of colour caught her eye. Squinting, she tried to make out what it could be, but it was still a fair way away, and she was looking into the sun.

"Spencer, can you see that?"

"See what?"

"That...thing, out there." She pointed, and he followed her finger, shading his eyes as he tried to make out whatever it was that was moving.

"Not really. Give it a few minutes and it'll be easier to see." Julia did as she was told, leaning on the porch railing as she waited for whatever it was to get closer. After what felt like years to the weary clown but in reality was only a few minutes, the shape settled into four distinct figures.

"Is that them, Spencer?" He didn't have to ask who she meant; it was the reason he'd come outside, to wait for however long it took for them to make their way back to the lodge. Another flash of colour, bright orange and white, confirmed it for him.

"It's them alright. No one else I know would be seen dead in orange and white." The four had evidently caught sight of Julia and Spencer standing on the porch, because the two smaller figures began waving. Julia waved back for a moment before subsiding in tiredness.

"I'm seriously going to kill those three," she growled, mentally entertaining herself with thoughts of how she could kill the little troublemakers.

"Hello!" Hilary's call brought her out of her bloodthirsty thoughts, and she jolted upright, smiling happily at the sight of her friends. "We're home!" The brunette was standing beside Tala, who had his arm wrapped lazily around her. Julia raised an eyebrow at that, but wisely said nothing. She'd known about Hilary's crush, but thought Tala was too uncaring to return the feeling. She was most definitely revising that opinion, as soon as she could. However, she was even more shocked when Mariah and Bryan walked up to the porch, Mariah still wearing the Russian's jacket from the day before.

"Why are you wearing Bryan's jacket?" she asked stupidly.

"Because I'm cold and mine's still wet from the rain yesterday. We got caught out in it," the neko-jin explained.

"Idiots," Bryan muttered, but this time everyone could hear the amusement in his voice. Only Mariah, though, was able to catch the affection in his eyes as he looked at her, before resuming his usual bland stare.

"You spent the night out in the rain?" Spencer eyed his teammates, smirking inside as he took in the happy couples.

"No, we spent the night in a cave playing Truth or Dare. We just got caught in the rain when these two," at that Tala indicated the girls, "When these two got lost."

"You played Truth or Dare in a cave? What dares could you possibly do in a cave?"

"Plenty." Mariah smiled evilly at Tala and Hilary. Julia wasn't so surprised when Hilary blushed, but Spencer was amazed when Tala did. And when his captain pecked the brunette on the cheek, he almost fainted in shock.

"Alright, you can tell me about it inside. Then you can help me hunt down and kill Daichi, Kevin and Ian." Julia ushered her friends inside, leaving the three Russians out on the porch.

"What was that?" Spencer asked Tala bluntly, once the three girls were inside and safely out of earshot.

"That was the result of a dare."

"Huh?"

"Mariah dared him to kiss her after she revealed him as her crush in a truth," Bryan said laconically. "They haven't stopped that shit since then. They even slept all cuddled up together."

"Hey, you were all cozy-cozy with Mariah too, buster. And you let her sit in your lap all night and fall asleep on you," Tala pointed out. Both Spencer and Tala were surprised when a faint pink tinge appeared on Bryan's cheeks.

"Tell anyone and I kill you both," he hissed, before storming inside.

"He really did all that?"

"Yeah, Spence. Oh and I have to borrow your headgear for a day."

"Why?"

"Dare. But Bryan has to be Ian's companion all day without killing him."

"Lucky he wasn't here this morning then."

"Oh?"

"Kevin, Ian and Daichi rigged bungers to go off at the ungodly hour of about five thirty. Then they fixed all the plumbing so the hot water didn't work and showers had a time limit of five minutes."

"Gee, suddenly that cave doesn't seem so bad."

* * *

"How the hell do you wear this thing all the time, Spence?" It was the next day, and true to his word, Tala had appropriated Spencer's headgear. It had taken him a good half-hour to figure out how to get it on over his hear, and he eventually had to forgo his ritualistic gelling to make it fit. When Tala had walked down to breakfast, every single person in the room, including those who knew about the dare and all the adults who were supposedly above such childishness, had burst into raucous laughter at the sight.

The usually cool and collected Russian with his hair flopping down in his eyes, swearing violently in Russian cut a ridiculous figure. Even worse was the fact that Bryan refused to let him wear anything other than his usual outfit, and the green clashed horribly with the orange, white and blue. He'd then spent the hour since breakfast complaining about how horrible he looked and how much it itched, so much so that Hilary had threatened to duct-tape his mouth closed if he didn't shut up. The threat had worked, until the brunette left to start her dare of being nice to Daichi for the day.

Bryan was outside with Ian and Mariah, who'd taken pity on the silent teen and decided to keep him company 'so she could make sure he didn't kill Ian'. Bryan privately suspected it was just to keep him company, period, and very much appreciated the gesture. He was currently standing on the porch with the pink-haired girl, watching Ian and Kevin try to get Daichi away from Hilary so they could plan some more mischief. However, Hilary had heard about their escapades the previous day from Julia, and wasn't having any of it.

"How much longer do you think it will take until they give up?" Mariah murmured, watching the scene with amusement.

"A couple of hours, at least."

"You know, I'm actually glad we all ended up in that cave, and not because it meant that we missed yesterday's wake up call."

"I would have preferred bungers to Tala shouting in my ear."

"Bryan!"

"What?" He turned to face the girl at his side, who suddenly seemed rather annoyed with him, though he had no idea why.

"Didn't you enjoy it?" she asked meekly, staring at the ground.

"I suppose..."

"Well, did you or didn't you?" She was glaring into his eyes now, making him really confused. What the hell did she want from him?

"Yes. Yes I did. Happy?" In reply, she threw herself at him in an excited hug. "Mariah?"

She looked up at him, eyes shining, and he finally figured it out. Godammit, he liked her, and he was pretty sure she liked him too. Cautiously, having no previous experience with these things, he pressed his lips gently to hers, bowing his head so she wouldn't have to stretch up so much. In response, she tightened her arms around his neck, kissing back passionately, which caused him to apply more pressure, completely ignoring the catcalls and wolf whistles from the three twerps in the background.

"Yuck!" Ian spat on the ground, and Hilary promptly whacked him over the back of the head, earning herself a glare from the younger boy. She glared right back while Kevin and Daichi made gagging noises, for which they were also promptly whacked.

"You and Tala were bad enough, but Bryan going sappy too? The bloody world must be ending or something if my teammates are falling in love."He shuddered distastefully as he said the last three words, pulling Kevin in front of him as Hilary made to whack him again.

"Shut up. I think it's sweet."

"You would; you're a girl."

"Well don't look now but I think Spencer and Julia are getting rather close..."

"No! Stop the torture now! My poor ears! No!" Ian continued on in this vein, while Daichi and Kevin watched him bemusedly.

"Dude, that's kinda overreacting, don't you think? I mean, that's Mariah making out up there with your cranky buddy, and I'm not going off my rocker," Kevin pointed out. Ian stared at him, before shaking his head and continuing his rant.

"Hilary's with Tala?" Daichi asked slowly. "When'd that happen?"

"Geez, get with the times. They've been together since yesterday."

"Are you serious? You can't be with Tala! He's my rival! He's the enemy!" Daichi started his own rant, Hilary hitting him every time he insulted Tala.

"Man, I must be the only sane one here." Kevin shook his head in disappointment at the other two. Bryan and Mariah had finished kissing by now, and were watching Daichi and Ian with undisguised amusement. Hilary soon gave up on Daichi and stormed inside to find Tala, smiling cheekily at Mariah as she passed. Kevin followed her inside, still muttering about the insanity of his co-conspirators, passing Spencer on his way.

"I'd just like to point out that everyone inside saw that." Mariah blushed prettily, while Bryan treated the big blond to one of his worst death glares.

"Don't worry, Bry, I won't tell." Spencer ruffled Bryan's hair, grinning when the smaller boy snarled at him. He left the pair, heading back inside.

"Bryan?"

"Yes?"

"If what Spencer said is true, that means Lee will have seen us, uh...kissing."

"So?"

"So, uh...well, he's kinda-" She stammered awkwardly, unsure as to how exactly to say what she wanted to politely.

"Kuznetsov, get away from my sister!" A very angry Lee appeared at the door, glaring daggers at Bryan who stared back blankly.

"-he's really over protective!" She finally managed. Bryan tore his gaze away from the angry neko-jin in the doorway to stare at the pink-haired girl.

"And you couldn't have mentioned that before?"

* * *

Boo hoo. That's it. The end. Finito. It's over. I feel so...meh. I don't know how I feel. I hope you feel happy. I hope you all enjoyed it. I enjoyed writing it. Reviews are appreciated.

Do not ask about the Spencer-Julia thing. I have no idea where that came from...oh right, it's that thing optimistically referred to as my brain. So, until I have another brainwave, bye bye!


End file.
